Muslim-majority region of Philippines lights up for Ramadan celebrations

Muslim-majority region of Philippines lights up for Ramadan celebrations
Cotabato City, the main city of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines is illuminated with colorful lights for Ramadan celebrations on March 12, 2024. (Bangsamoro Information Office)
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Updated 13 March 2024
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Muslim-majority region of Philippines lights up for Ramadan celebrations

Muslim-majority region of Philippines lights up for Ramadan celebrations
  • Annual festival of lights in Cotabato City was inaugurated in 2019
  • Muslims and non-Muslims have been invited to participate in festivities

MANILA: Cotabato City, the main city of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, has lit up with colorful light installations as this region of the predominantly Catholic Philippines began Ramadan celebrations.

There are some 12 million Muslims in this country of nearly 120 million people, according to 2024 data from the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos. 

They live mostly on the island of Mindanao and in the Sulu archipelago in the country’s south, as well as in Manila, constituting the third-largest Muslim community in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Malaysia.

The administrative headquarters of the Muslim-majority BARMM is located in Cotabato City.

Its Ramadan lights were lit at the Bangsamoro Government Center on Tuesday night, marking the first day of the fasting month in the Philippines. There were accompanying activities including a halal food fair and local products being offered for sale at night markets.

“We want to send a message that although Ramadan is generally a month of sacrifice, it doesn’t mean that we should be sad,” BARMM Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim told Arab News. 

“It is believed that when the holy Qur’an was sent down by Allah to Prophet Muhammad, it started during Ramadan. So, to celebrate that we express our happiness.”

The annual festival of lights was inaugurated in 2019 and both Muslims and non-Muslims have been invited to participate.

“From the breaking of fast at 6 p.m., there’s a festive mood here until the start of fasting. There are programs being held every night. Everybody’s welcome,” Ebrahim said. 

When the illumination is on, the government center area looks from afar like a big mosque made from colorful lights.




Cotabato City, the main city of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is illuminated for Ramadan celebrations on March 12, 2024. (Bangsamoro Information Office)

Andrew Alonto, director of the Bangsamoro Information Office, said it “becomes a venue for family and friends to get together” during the fasting month. 

“That is also the essence of Ramadan, to signify the importance of sharing meals and sharing time with the family during iftar,” he told Arab News, adding that throughout the month the Bangsamoro government sponsors iftar meals for those who fast. 

“Ramadan is very important for Muslims in the Bangsamoro because it’s one of the five pillars of Islam wherein we perform fasting during the holy month. So, Ramadan is a form of spiritual cleansing.”


Air France suspends services to Beirut and Tel Aviv

Air France suspends services to Beirut and Tel Aviv
Updated 7 sec ago
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Air France suspends services to Beirut and Tel Aviv

Air France suspends services to Beirut and Tel Aviv

Air France is suspending services from the French capital’s Charles de Gaulle airport to Beirut and Tel Aviv up to and including Sept. 19 due to escalating security concerns in the Middle East, the airline said on Tuesday.
The operations will resume following an assessment of the situation, Air France added.
Earlier in the day, Lufthansa Group said it is suspending all connections to and from Tel Aviv and Tehran and will bypass Israeli and Iranian airspace up to and including Sept. 19.


US senator accuses Muslim advocate of supporting extremism in hearing on hate

Republican US Senator John Kennedy. (REUTERS file photo)
Republican US Senator John Kennedy. (REUTERS file photo)
Updated 29 min 55 sec ago
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US senator accuses Muslim advocate of supporting extremism in hearing on hate

Republican US Senator John Kennedy. (REUTERS file photo)
  • “This harassment is alarming,” Muslim American advocacy group Engage Action said

WASHINGTON: Republican US Senator John Kennedy accused a leading Muslim civil rights advocate of supporting extremism during a Senate hearing on hate incidents in the US, drawing criticism from many rights groups.
“You support Hamas, do you not?” Kennedy told Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry, who replied by saying: “You asking the executive director of the Arab American Institute that question very much puts the focus on the issue of hate in our country.”
In a follow-up question, the senator asked, “You support Hezbollah, too, don’t you?” He later told her, “You should hide your head in a bag.”
Berry repeatedly said in her responses that she did not support those groups, and added that she found the line of questioning “extraordinarily disappointing.”
Islamist militant groups Hamas, which carried out a deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Hezbollah are both designated as “foreign terrorist organizations” by the US government.
Multiple rights advocates denounced Senator Kennedy.
“It is absolutely reprehensible that a US senator would weaponize the racial identity of a witness and accuse her of supporting terrorism by using an anti-Arab and anti-Muslim trope in a hearing meant to tackle precisely that kind of bigotry,” Council on American Islamic Relations Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw told Reuters.
“This harassment is alarming,” Muslim American advocacy group Engage Action said.
The Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee, which organized Tuesday’s hearing, also condemned the senator and called Berry’s response to him “powerful.”
Rights advocates have warned about rising threats against American Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the eruption of Israel’s war in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
US incidents in recent months include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Muslim girl in Texas, the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Muslim man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York, threats of violence against Jews at Cornell University that led to a conviction and sentencing, and an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York City Jewish center.

 


Bangladesh opposition party rallies to demand a new election

Bangladesh opposition party rallies to demand a new election
Updated 17 September 2024
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Bangladesh opposition party rallies to demand a new election

Bangladesh opposition party rallies to demand a new election

DHAKA: Thousands of activists and leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday rallied in the nation’s capital to demand a democratic transition through an election as an interim government has yet to outline a time frame for new voting.

The supporters gathered in front of BNP headquarters in Dhaka, where they chanted slogans demanding a new election.

The interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has rolled out a number of plans to reform various sectors of the country, from the Election Commission to financial institutions. But major political parties — including the BNP, which is headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia — want the new election sometime soon.

Yunus took the helm after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid a mass uprising last month, ending a 15-year spell in power. The protests began in July and later morphed into an anti-government movement. Hasina has been living in India since.

In his recent speeches, Yunus hasn’t outlined a time frame for a new national election and said they would stay in power as long as the people want them to stay. A team of newspaper editors recently said that Yunus should complete crucial reforms first and stay in power for at least two years.

The BNP initially demanded an election in three months, but later said it wants to allow the interim government some time for reforms to be undertaken. The country’s main Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, which was once officially an alliance partner under Zia’s party, also wants to give the Yunus-led government more time before an election is conducted.


Afghanistan reopens its embassy in Oman, the Taliban say

An exterior view of Afghanistan's Embassy in Muscat, Oman. (Twitter @HafizZiaAhmad)
An exterior view of Afghanistan's Embassy in Muscat, Oman. (Twitter @HafizZiaAhmad)
Updated 17 September 2024
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Afghanistan reopens its embassy in Oman, the Taliban say

An exterior view of Afghanistan's Embassy in Muscat, Oman. (Twitter @HafizZiaAhmad)
  • The Foreign Ministry said that 39 diplomatic missions are now under Taliban control

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Afghanistan’s Embassy in Oman has reopened, an official in Kabul said Tuesday, the latest sign of the growing inclusion of the Taliban among Gulf Arab countries following the United Arab Emirates’ acceptance of a Taliban ambassador last month.
The development also comes after the Taliban said in July that they no longer recognize diplomatic missions set up by the former, Western-backed government. Most countries still have not accepted the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.
According to Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman of the Foreign Ministry in Kabul, the embassy in Muscat, Oman’s capital, resumed operations on Sunday.
There was no immediate confirmation from Omani authorities and no reports from the sultanate’s state-run news agency about the embassy’s reopening.
“The work of the embassy is carried out regularly by diplomats of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said Takal, using the Taliban name for their government.
“The resumption of embassy activities in cooperation with the host country will play a constructive role in strengthening the political, economic, social and religious relations between Kabul and Muscat,” Takal added.
The Foreign Ministry said that 39 diplomatic missions are now under Taliban control.
There is a deepening divide in the international community on how to deal with the Taliban, who have been in power for three years and face no internal or external opposition. And even though the Taliban and the West remain at loggerheads, Afghanistan’s rulers have pursued bilateral ties with major regional powers.
Last month, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov arrived in Afghanistan in the highest-level visit by a foreign official since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
As part of expanding their reach, the Taliban have moved to take control of the country’s embassies and consulates overseas.
The embassies in London and Oslo announced their closures this month, while others in Europe and beyond have continued to operate.

 


12-year-old boy youngest to be sentenced over UK riots

12-year-old boy youngest to be sentenced over UK riots
Updated 17 September 2024
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12-year-old boy youngest to be sentenced over UK riots

12-year-old boy youngest to be sentenced over UK riots
  • The boy had earlier admitted to a charge of violent disorder in the town of Southport on July 31
  • District Judge Wendy Lloyd sentenced the boy Tuesday to a three-month curfew order and a 12-month referral order, which requires him to commit to a rehabilitative program

LONDON: A 12-year-old boy who threw stones at police during rioting outside a mosque has become the youngest person to be sentenced so far over far-right riots that erupted in England this summer.
The boy, who can’t be identified because of his age, had earlier admitted to a charge of violent disorder in the town of Southport on July 31.
District Judge Wendy Lloyd sentenced the boy Tuesday to a three-month curfew order and a 12-month referral order, which requires him to commit to a rehabilitative program.
She told the boy the riots had “shaken society to the core.” “It was an angry mob and you chose to be part of it,” she said.
Rioting in Southport kicked off soon after a stabbing attack at a dance class in the town that left three young girls dead. False rumors spread online that the suspect in the attack was an asylum-seeker.
The boy was part of a crowd of hundreds of rioters who set a police van on fire and tried to storm the Southport Islamic Society Mosque.
The violence quickly spread around towns and cities around the country, but the unrest fizzled out after the swift charging and sentencing of those found to be involved.
Police have made more than 1,000 arrests and brought more than 800 charges.